| Solutions for all that Business Paperwork? |
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Written by Nancy Schettler March 20, 2006 Just wondering what other folks out there are doing about all the paperwork that their business generates. We receive orders by phone, fax, or mail (as well as online), and each of these orders results in a piece of paper (hand-written or printed). Usually, once we fill the order we never have need to look at the paperwork again, but sometimes a situation arises where we need to look up the original order. Plowing through piles and piles of paper is not my idea of fun, so we decided to scan each order form and archive it on our computer.
So now we have tons of paper, and tons of data files.
We have to keep the papers for three years, in case of credit card disputes and also for sales tax purposes. After that, I will buy some marshmallows and have a big bonfire, I think, because putting it all through the shredder takes too long and will waste too many garbage bags. Composting takes too long and is, well, not very secure. ;-)
What are you readers doing with your order data? If you're storing volumes of it on your computer, what is your chosen method of backup? We are discovering that to do online backups of even our essential Quickbooks data is taking about 2 hours, and this is a number which will never decrease.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Nancy Schettler
A Well Dressed Kitchen
Written by Rob Bishop March 21, 2006
Nancy;
Great post. Thanks.
I work hard to be a flexible boss and allow people to work in the way which each individual is comfortable. I still have one staff member, that gets an email, prints it out, reads it, and then replies back. (I find that odd) I personally feel this is a waste, but I try not to micro manage. (I really try)
For my staff who submit to my badgering, we have set up forms on our website, which only our staff have access to. These forms broadcast the information to the people who need it (accounting, shipping, etc) as well as automatically sign these clients up to our newsletter. (we do ask if it is okay - so it is opt in) This could be as simple as a general inquiry, right up to an order.
For me this accomplishes several things;
- I can set the form to reject the info if an employee would like to save some time (cut corners) and not enter the info we need
- I can include scripts on screen for staff to remember simple things like saying thank-you and asking additional questions
- the info is only entered once (worst case someone has to cut and paste it in to shipping software) and finally
- we find that there is little that slips through the cracks, because a duplicate did not get in to a paper inbox, or a paper clip stuck two forms together.
We now have paper forms for only one staff member who just does not want to advance.
As far as back up goes. We have a central server in the building (does not host website) that has removable hard drives. These are swapped out every couple of days, and stored off site. It is simple. Cheap. And is run at night when nobody has to sit and watch it finish. I am sure there are better solutions, but we have tried several like online backups, tape drive and such, but this works for us.
Bear Hugs
Rob Bishop
Binkley Custom Products
Written by Chuck Hiatt March 21, 2006 Nancy:
In 2003, we wanted a paperless office but didn't know where to start so we used a consultant to walk us through the process. It was worth every penny. Since installation and training have been completed, our productivity has increased 68%, labor cost is down 18% and our net profit margin increased by 8.5%. The total cost was about $38,000 and it paid for itself in 3 months.
We addressed the issue three years ago and solved it by incorporating dedicated document scanners and optical storage. We have 2 employees that do nothing but scan documents all day long. Every piece of paper that comes into our office is scanned and electronically filed and is then shredded. This includes orders, quotes, letters, receipts, faxes, handwritten notes, emails...everything.
As a document is scanned into the system, it is assigned to the correct customer or internal file and a copy is also stored in a searchable database. We have optical storage onsite and back-up every night to an offsite dedicated server. Our office is as paperless as you can get. I can locate any document of any age in seconds. The only originals that are kept on file are contracts and employee records.
There are many companies offering document handling solutions. It might be worth having someone come out and evaluate your needs.
Chuck Hiatt
Promogear.com, Inc.
> Just wondering what other folks out there are doing
> about all the paperwork that their business generates.
> We have to keep the papers for three years...
- Nancy Schettler
Are you sure about the keeping the paper for 3 years? I am in the payroll field and for payroll records, tax reports etc the IRS allows electronic storage as long as it is an exact replica and has the signature etc. The IRS only needs to be sure that the records are the same and that it can be printed out if requested.
Perhaps you need to check the rules for your states. Since the Electronic Act passed a while back, electronic records are supposed to be accepted the same as paper so maybe your state has changed. And since banks keep your checks on file as electronic files maybe you can do the same type of record for the credit card companies. Be worth checking into.
Vicki Lambert
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